The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) announced that its third Hong Kong Shopping Festival (Chinese Mainland) concluded successfully, generating over 115 million total views across all online platforms, a 15% increase from the previous year. The event, held from 1 to 20 August, featured more than 280 brands and 600 products, with exclusive discounts and live-stream sales on Douyin, JD.com, and Taobao. Marketing campaigns on Xiaohongshu and WeChat further boosted Hong Kong companies' digital marketing capabilities and brand visibility.
Following this success, the HKTDC is expanding the festival to ASEAN for the first time, launching the Hong Kong Shopping Festival (ASEAN) in Malaysia and Singapore from 21 to 27 September. This expansion aims to help Hong Kong enterprises tap into the rapidly growing e-commerce market in Southeast Asia. Algernon Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, noted that participating brands have reported positive sales performance in the mainland edition and expressed support for the expansion. "This year, the Hong Kong Shopping Festival is expanding into the ASEAN region for the first time, facilitating Hong Kong enterprises to tap into another enormous e-commerce market," Yau said.
Jacky Chung, Associate Executive Director of HKTDC, highlighted the festival's role in enhancing brand trust and visibility. "The strong reception once again demonstrates that Hong Kong brands and products are widely associated with trust and quality," Chung said. He added that the expansion into Malaysia and Singapore will lay a solid foundation for Hong Kong businesses seeking to enter the ASEAN region.
The festival's core components included Discount Month and live-stream e-commerce, with over 30 live-streaming sessions for around 90 brands, featuring renowned key opinion leaders (KOLs) such as Li Jiaqi and Lin Yilin. The live-streams attracted over 10 million views. A new "Behind-the-Brand" origin-tracing live-stream series brought mainland live-streaming teams to Hong Kong, offering immersive tours of participating brands' factories and retail stores. This initiative helped build consumer confidence and brand exposure.
Wai Yuen Tong, a health supplement brand that participated in the origin-tracing series, saw sales on its Tmall flagship store increase fivefold compared with the same period last year. Vivian Tang, Executive Director of Wai Yuen Tong, said the live-streams provided a valuable opportunity to share brand stories and production processes directly with consumers, building greater trust. Social enterprise Hello Cocoa, which entered the mainland market for the first time, achieved over 200,000 brand impressions through live-streaming and WeChat community promotions, surpassing expectations.
The festival also supported businesses in developing their own e-commerce capabilities. Hung Fook Tong, a third-time participant, doubled sales during the event, with two products selected by influencer Li Jiaqi for a live-stream session. Audrey Poon, General Manager of Hung Fook Tong, said the festival helped strengthen the brand's image and e-commerce operations, including marketing, cross-border logistics, and collaborations with key opinion leaders. Startup personal care brand Eco.babe saw sales of its insect repellent increase by more than 50% year-on-year through live-streaming sessions.
To engage younger demographics, the festival introduced a designer toys category, collaborating with artists Moon Lau and Kalok Chow. Topics related to the festival generated over 60 million views across social media platforms, a 20% increase. Natural Made, which launched its original IP "Poru-Poru" during the event, saw brand exposure and product save rates on Taobao double. Kenneth Lee, Marketing Lead at Natural Made, praised the HKTDC's training programmes for offering practical insights into platform algorithms and AI tools.
The inaugural Hong Kong Shopping Festival (ASEAN) will feature an official website and special campaign pages on Shopee and Lazada, showcasing over 350 products. To assist Hong Kong businesses without a presence in these markets, the event will introduce a limited-time online store, providing a convenient channel for merchants to test market response. This expansion is expected to help Hong Kong companies gain practical e-commerce experience and seize new business opportunities in the ASEAN region.
